mocka bistro – leave room for dessert

Family team Hazal and Ugur and 8 month old Lina Sesen have just taken over a new spot in The Old High Street.  They have a background in hospitality and a specialism for desserts.  Open for breakfast through to dinner in the evenings, always make sure there’s room for something sweet as you won’t be disappointed.  Folkelife met the whole family for cruffles – a croissant/waffle cross with hazelnut sauce, ice cream and strawberries, drizzled with white chocolate.

Hazal: “We moved to Folkestone in 2021 from London.  We’ve got family down here so had been visiting for a while.  It seems the pace of life here is so much better than what we had in London.  Obviously there’s the sea, there’s the fresh air and there’s a community here that you don’t get elsewhere.”

Ugur: “But we’re still so close to London that we can go up if we want to.  Although we have family here now and it’s growing.”

Lina, their daughter is very much a part of the team in Mocka Bistro; clapping in time to nursery rhymes, whilst her parents have planned everything.

Hazal: “We are open 7 days a week and we’ve been so welcomed to the street.  All of the other shop owners have supported us and told their customers about us being here.  This is what I mean about the community.  You wouldn’t find it, indeed we didn’t find it in London.”

Ugur: “Our menus cater for all, from breakfast to dinner in the evening.  We’ve got good vegan choices too.  It’s clear what people are wanting. There’s a choice of coffee; I particularly like Biscoff and the Biscoff Latte we’ve created is delicious.  Our Butterfly Latte, with any milk you like, is a beautiful colour as well as flavour.  We like waffles and pancakes too, if you like waffles then we’ve got savoury and sweet on offer.  There are fry ups, steaks, Korean Chicken barbeque waffles, and desserts, lots of desserts!”

folkestone is family

Hazal: “We have known Folkestone for such a long time, with our family being here.  We wanted to come down here and a job opportunity came up.  Then we found out we were expecting our little one.  It felt like now was the time to start something for ourselves, for our little family.  We’d been keeping a look out for the right property for us to start Mocka Bistro and this appeared.  It’s just the right size for us, it’s cosy and a great place to start.  Now we’ve got a business, our family has grown.  Our staff are now part of our family too.”

Ugur: “This is got such history, being on The Old High Street.  It’s at the heart of Folkestone and is one of the best locations to be.  We’re really lucky. I help out wherever I’m needed in the restaurant and the customers have been so great.  People come here and eat and then recommend it to friends.   That’s what we mean about the community here.  People want to help you succeed and see that you’re joining in with the town.”

Hazal: “If you’re happy or sad, people will smile and say hello and that’s really friendly.  I love living here and coming into the restaurant each day.  It’s something that we’ve been longing to do, start up Mocka Bistro, and we hope everyone enjoys themselves when they come here.”